Diet Tips from Around the World

I have been doing a lot of research lately into weight loss tips and tricks. At the beginning I was fascinated by everything, but after a certain amount of time, it just seems like much of the same.

Something that I came across and loved was an article on Fitness titled The World’s Healthiest Diets. It sounds kind of blah, right? It’s great though, because they outline how each diet would help you loose weight. I’ve outlined each diet below you that you can get the main idea.

Week One: France

• Eat slowly
• Make lunch the main event
• Treat yourself

Week Two: Japan

• Start with soup
• Brighten up your plate
• Stop while you’re ahead

Week Three: The Nordic Region

• Better your bread
• Go fish
• Hit the farmers’ market

Week Four: The Mediterranean

• Get an oil change
• Spice things up
• Use meat sparingly

Confused? I would be too with those suggestions. Basically, go should should just go read up on how those four diets could change your life.

Welcome Home

Je suis de retour! I know I have been doing a really kick-ass disappearing act lately, but I’m back.  And I have news.

Well, it’s nothing new really. I have been really inspired by one of my favorite bloggers ever, Corinne. She is battling against her weight, and trust me, she’s kicking butt at it. Want inspiration? Follow her blog.

She has made me really, really want to start working on my body. I don’t mean BOTOX or anything, don’t get me wrong! I want to start exercising, eating right, and being proud of my body.

I have been keeping track of my eating thanks for a great app called MyFitnessPal. I have stayed under my amount every day this year, except once. That’s pretty awesome, isn’t it? But it really doesn’t feel like I’m doing enough. What on earth does this mean? Well, I have arranged (or rather, am in the process of arranging) goals for me, as well as little things to help motivate me. More to come! Fitness Friday will be re-instated, but it will be kind of like a mid-week update. Are you excited? I am!

Other news: I have a lot of new blogs and shops to introduce you to. Coming soon!

Now I am off to a local pharmacy in search of Soap and Glory products. They will be mine!

The G.I. Diet

Have you been wondering what on earth’s happened to Fitness Fridays? I have been hoping nobody noticed, but still feeling utterly guilt-ridden for starting something that I didn’t finish, especially because it has to do with people other than myself.

Well, what happened was this. I had a bad week and didn’t work out too much. And I really didn’t want to share my disappointment, so I decided to not write a Fitness Friday that week. Well, the next week was much of the same. Even when I did work out, I didn’t take note of how I did and decided not to share. Weird? Yes, I think so as well. I really can’t explain it.

I haven’t weighed myself in awhile, and I never really was one for looking at weight loss in terms of weight, but more in terms of inches that come off. I’ve been nervous to do even that!

Remember my sister’s blog? Well, she started a new one (which you must definitely check out here). She writes more often, about health and fitness, in a manner that is clear and to the point. I love reading it, because it makes me so much more knowledgeable than I am.

The only thing is… I feel guilty whenever I read it, because it’s a slap in the face that I’m not exercising (or even eating healthy!) when I really should be. I see no point in hiding my weight, BMI or anything else from other people. It’s just a fact of me, and I’m not too bothered about people think about it. So, here we go. My BMI states that I am borderline obese. Does this make me worried? Yes, very worried.

I’ve had many fitness goals over the years. Even when I weighed 125, I wanted to lose my tummy. In retrospect, that is incredibly silly and I had a great body. Now I’m 50 pounds heavier and find it harder than ever to eat healthy and exercise. I find it so hard to set my eyes on a goal and really work for what I want.

I bet you’re all wondering where I’m going with this. Well, when I came home from school today, I happened to noticed a book entitled Living the G.I. Diet by Rick Gallop on the counter. My mom mentioned it a few days ago and it sounded like an absolutely nutty diet to me, so I kind of blew it off. I picked up the book and read through it a bit, and finally decided that you know what, I’ll give it a try.

My mom (and kind of my dad) and I have decided that for a month, we’re going to try to stick to the G.I. Diet. That means that on December 1st, we’ll look at the results. Not just in terms of weight, but also in terms of how we feel.

So here we go. The G.I. diet starts now!

Let’s go grab some green tea.

Fitness Friday: Week Four

The battle continues. Check out my progress with me here.

On Sunday morning my mom and I woke up and drove over to the loacl gym. We usually have a cup of tea and a piece of fruit on our way over. We arrived just in time for our spin/yoga class. We expected it to be 50/50, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t 45 minutes of spin and 30 minutes of yoga. Let me tell you though, spin is intense! I wasn’t able to do all the things some of the more advanced people did, but I stayed on that stationary bike for 45 minutes! The yoga past went by really quickly, and I really liked that it was go go go, then relax and let yourself breath. I was very happy with that workout!

On Monday I had my fitness test in gym… Among other things, I did 4 push ups (yes, that is all I can do) and 51 curl ups in a minute. Oh, and I also ran up and down a flight of stairs 70 times. It wasn’t per se a “real” work out, but it was physical activity.

Tuesday and Wednesday both consisted of 25 minutes on the step machine at the gym. Both days I burnt around 250 calories.

I did not work out on Thursday and Friday.

I know, pretty bad, isn’t it? The days I did work out, I felt great! The days I didn’t work out, all I could think about was not working out.

Inspiration of the week: Fit Blogger. “Some of us have come from a very unhealthy place and find that writing a fitness blog has changed our lives, while others have always enjoyed healthy living and have found fitness blogging a fantastic way to share their passion with the world.”

Fitness Friday: Week Three

I’m going to warn you now; this week has been pretty horrible in terms of fitness. Actually, it’s been pretty horrible in all ways, but you can still check out my progress here.
Now, we know that last Friday I didn’t do my workout (bad girl!) but I managed to do it on Saturday evening and it went as follows:

Stretch
Walk	5 minutes
Stretch
Squats with Ball	3 x 15
Lunges	3 x 15
Donkey Kick	3 x 12
Jog/Run	5 minutes
Lateral Raises	3 x 15
Chest Press	3 x 15
Dips	3 x 15
Stair Run	2 minutes
Bicep curls	3 x 15
Overhead Raise on Ball	3 x 15
Superman	3 x 15
Crunches	3 x 20
Obliques	3 x 15
Knee to Elbow	3 x 15
Walk	5 minutes
Stretch

Monday morning was my first day back at school. I was up at 5:30AM to get my workout done before school. It just so happens that I had my first gym class that day, Volleyball. It turns out it’s not actually volleyball though, but circuit training. For this reason, on Monday’s I won’t be working out at home. I’ll have the circuit training instead! Here’s what I did on Monday morning before class:

Stretch
Walk	5 minutes
Stretch
Deadlifts with Dumbell	3 x 15
Roll Ball; feet to bum	3 x 15
Woodchops	3 x 20
Jumping Jacks	2 minutes
Side Lunges with Dumbbells	3 x 15
Back Extension with Dumbbells	3 x 15
Horizontal Extension	3 x 15
Run	2 minutes
Tricep Kickback on Bench	3 x 15
Hammer Curls with Dumbbells	3 x 15
Wall Push Ups	3 x 15
Walk	5 minutes
Stretch

Now, Tuesdays were my days off because I had a class at 8:30, which meant I had to get the bus at 7:00, which means to be able to work out and be ready in time, I’d have to get up somewhere around the 4AM time. That just didn’t seem sane. So Tuesday was my day off and I didn’t work out.

Wednesday was not a good day either. I was very ill (I missed one of my first classes!) and therefore didn’t work out in the morning.

Thursday was another no-go day, though I spent the afternoon walking around downtown Montreal. I know, it doesn’t count as a workout.

And finally, Friday morning, this morning. My mom and I had decided to go to the local gym (where she is a member) for me to try it out. Let me tell you, I loved it! We only had time for a 30 minute workout, but I was able to do a lot. I did the step machine for 25 minutes (5 cool down) and burn 268 calories. I was blown away. It’s incredible how much you can burn on a step machine. They have a few weekly classes that my mom and I are thinking of doing, including yoga, pilates, and spin/yoga. We’re thinking of maybe doing 3/4 classes a week, though that is subject to change. I really like working out at a gym, especially compared to the basement of the house. It is a lot nicer.

But do you know what I’ve noticed? Besides feeling like an absolute failure… I haven’t been hungry. The first two weeks, when I worked out more regularly, I had this kind of pulsating hunger. It almost took control.

As I mentioned here, I wanted to get some thinspiration around the house. I did it! I printed a few photos that really made me want to push myself harder.

Inspiration of the week: Her Fitness Blog. “I’m a woman who has struggled with weight most of my life and I was very sad when my doctor told me that I should lose weight. He said I was border line overweight with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.”